


Barriers

by hissesssss



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, i hope you enjoy this fic!, remus/roman but only brotherly relationships haha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21839962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hissesssss/pseuds/hissesssss
Summary: The best way to solve family issues is through magic.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6
Collections: Sanders Sides Secret Santa 2019





	Barriers

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is a fic I wrote for the 2019 Sanders Sides Secret Santa! I hope my giftee enjoys it as much as they possibly can! Happy Holidays everyone!

Two boys, grabbing their satchels full of clothes, food, and first aid equipment, scale down large castle walls and run into the forest. They run and run and run, not giving a care to where they are actually going. All they know is that they are far away from their kingdom and now...they can finally experience their first taste of freedom.

The first boy was reluctant to leave. He was preparing for his coronation a month earlier or so. He was never one to delay preparations and always wanted to achieve his goals as soon as possible. When his brother, the other boy, had proposed an escape into the nearby forests of their kingdom, he was completely opposed. He was getting ready! There was absolutely no time for breaks or relaxation or an escape. He needed to practice for his coronation and make sure the people knew he was trustworthy. If he did not have the people’s support on his side, who knew what his mother would do.

However, his brother was adamant. He wasn’t one to shy away from sly tricks to get what he wants. So maybe he had bribed his brother with a year’s worth of menial duties. And maybe he had convinced his brother to take a very short break...without telling him that they were definitely not coming back into the castle for awhile. 

The brother needed it though. He was tired of being put aside. His brother may be getting ready for his coronation but that did not mean he needed to be ignored! He was part of the royal family, not some measly servant!   
  


No way he was going to let anyone know this. Obviously.

In any case, the trek through the woods was rough. Sharp thorns and hanging branches obstructed their journey and the moonlight did little to provide a view in front of them. They kept walking anyway. 

“So...is there any specific destination that we must arrive to Remus?” The brother had begrudgingly trekked through trees for the past half hour and his brother had still not provided a clear answer as to where they were going. 

“No brother, we are going to spin in circles around the forest for the next 24 hours and hopefully find a magical wizard to transport us back to the castle,” Remus answered. He was frustrated. Initially, he had planned this journey as a way to escape the frustration of his life and possibly give him some reprieve from their calculating eyes and disappointing glances. However, what he hadn’t planned for was that bringing his brother along meant the calculating eyes would come along. In fact, the brother had begun complaining about his navigating skills a few hundred feet back and had not stopped. He should have planned better.

Roman rolled his eyes. “Oh, marvelous! Please do let me know when you find them.” 

Five seconds passed.

“Could you possibly walk any slower?”

Remus stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face Roman, an enraged expression clouding his face. “I will eat you,” Remus gritted through his teeth. Roman didn’t look very affected but for the next few minutes he did keep relatively quiet.

And so, the two brothers marched on into the unknown. Or well, the very well known but soon enough, the brothers found themselves at a dead end. Large vines, roots, and thorny branches spread across a large wall. Even with the training they received over the past year, nothing had prepared them for such a difficult feat. So the brothers stood there, hoping that some wonderful plan may come to mind and help them get past the wall.

“I say we go back and forget about it,” Roman pleaded with his brother. He could sense the soft light of dawn cutting through the night and he was worried about not making it home in time.

“And prove that we’re both idiots who can’t scale a measly wall?” Remus retorted back. He wasn’t one to step down from a challenge. If he was able to scale the castle walls at five, he could do this without question...overlooking the deadly patchwork of thorns all across the wall. He walked over to a different part of the wall. Still completely covered and extremely dangerous.

Roman rolled his eyes, “Oh come on. You of all people should know that I’m not one to shy away from a big ass wall! I just think it’s unnecessary to risk our lives for a wall that we’re going to have to scale again just to get home. It’s too difficult. Let’s just go.”

He had to act quick or Roman might just leave and his grand plan would be busted. He looked up to the top of the wall. If he was careful, he could make it to the top. It didn’t look...that high. Maybe if he somehow crawled his way up the wall, his brother would have no choice but to follow. Hopefully, he wouldn’t try pulling him down.

And so it was decided. While Roman watched Remus make a constipated face that slightly resembled a thinking face for a full minute, Remus suddenly ran his way to the wall, shrieking as the branches and thorns spread across the wall ripped his shirt and pants open. Roman yelled at his brother to get down and to consider not being a lunatic for once but Remus must have either not heard or didn’t care. If it weren’t for his considerable grip strength, he would have fallen off instantly. However, as it was, Roman was impressed at how well Remus was at managing to climb up the wall. He was even more impressed when he...melted into the wall.

Wait.

His brother melted into the fucking wall! Roman ran closer to where his brother had disappeared and tried to see if he was somehow still there and was just tricking him. All that he saw was the vines and branches running across the tall structure. How did something like this even happen? ‘Magic didn’t exist’ is what his mother used to tell him when he was younger and always questioned the world around him. He always believed it and tried to tamper down his imagination for the sake of staying within reality. But now...he wasn’t sure what was happening. 

Well, only one way to find out. He didn’t want to ruin his new shoes but his brother is in danger. The only person who’s kept him sane these past few months. He can’t lose someone so vital. 

He starts climbing.

* * *

He knew that as soon as he lost his grip on one of the ledges, something was wrong. He wasn’t falling normally. He couldn’t see where he was but he could tell his body was slowly falling through some thick, soup-like substance. His hands automatically searched for something to grasp-a ledge, a hand, his fucking brother-but to no avail. He was falling and nothing was stopping him.

Until he felt something grabbing his collar.

His descent slowed down as he was pulled by some force through this barrier until he came out some end sputtering and coughing as if his life depended on it. His entire body was covered in whatever goop he had traveled through and he still really couldn’t see anything when he tried to open his eyes. He could make out something faint but it was too dark and his eyes were still adjusting to being open.

A few moments later, while he was still shivering-wishing that his brother would rescue him or that he had never made the decision to leave the castle at all-he heard footsteps. They didn’t sound familiar and he could hear someone-or something-coming closer. He huddled into himself, hoping to spring out if something goes wrong. The person stopped a foot or so from him and didn’t do anything for a few seconds. Before Remus could make any rash decision, the person spoke.

“I brought you some food.”

He stared up at the figure. That response was definitely not what he was expecting. Now that he could see better, he could make out many things about this mystery person. They looked about his age and didn’t seem to be much taller than him. Their glasses reflected the light from above so he wasn’t able to tell what expression they held but they didn’t seem to be malicious They were carrying a tray of what seemed to be the food they were talking about and had set it down by a table near him. It was then that he realized that he wasn’t sitting on any hard floor. He was sitting on a bed with soft bedding, and a copious amount of...unicorn plushies? Where in the world did he end up?

The figure standing in front of him spoke once again. “Your brother should be arriving shortly.”

He startled at that. His brother was coming? Where was here and how did this person know that he was even coming?

“My brother? How do you know? Where is he and where the hell am I???”

The person held up a finger to their lips. He felt compelled to quiet down instantly. Huh. That was new.

The figure in front of him backed up. “All will be explained as soon as your brother arrives.” They walk away quickly, leaving Remus with even more questions and a deep feeling of unease. 

* * *

  
  


He grumbled as he reached for the first stone. Maybe if Remus hadn’t convinced him to leave the castle, travel with him to some unknown location, trek through a dangerous forest, end up in an unknown location, and get sucked in by a giant wall, he wouldn’t have had to ruin his clothes. 

Remus was absolutely not getting away with this without payback. 

Roman reached up for another stone and accidentally cut himself on a thorn. It wasn’t a big cut but he had to pause so that the stinging pain would cease. However, instead of the pain calming down, it intensified and Roman doubled down, hitting his head on one of the stones and feeling very...strange energy run through his body. The pain was still there but it was suddenly overpowered by whatever feeling had consumed his body.

He lost footing on one of the stones and prepared himself for even more pain. Instead of falling on the ground, he fell into the wall and felt himself tumbling. He knew this was the way to Remus but he was starting to wonder if all this risk was really worth it. Unknown to Roman, who was currently experiencing the same fate Remus had just a few hours ago, two people were very closely monitoring his moves and one of them was preparing to grab him. He stepped forward right outside of the barrier and reached the exact moment Roman passed down.

Unlike the previous catch, this one tumbled straight into him and threw them both onto the floor and had covered them both in the barrier goop. 

Roman immediately jumped up, wiping the goop out of his eyes and turning to face whoever had pulled him out. As grateful as he was to be out of that mess, he was still apprehensive that anyone who had created such a barrier was harmless in any sort of way.

He shouted at the figure, “Where’s my brother?!”

“If you would do us the honor of putting your fists down, I will gladly lead you to him.”

Roman squinted at him. That was too easy...There had to be some ulterior motive to this. 

Well fine, he’ll play along for now but if anything goes wrong, there will be hell to pay. “Well, lead on stranger.”

The two walked through what looked to be a large home. How they managed to end up in a house behind a magical wall, he had no clue. But, his day was weird enough, might as well go along with it. From how much they had been walking so far, it seemed that this house was of incredible size. Corridors split up into even longer halls, countless doors hiding who knows what running across each hall, and the magical stranger led him through all of it. They eventually stopped at a very large door along one of the corridors.

“He is currently resting in here. My brother has been caring for him as he had a very unfortunate tumble through the barrier. Usually, I am able to catch them and make sure they aren’t hurt but we haven’t had company in awhile.” 

Roman paused. “Before we go in, may I know your name?”

The person hesitated. “...Call me Patton.”

Roman smiled hesitantly at Patton. “Thank you for helping my brother. I don’t know about the whole goop barrier but you didn’t kill him, which is all I can really ask for at this point.”

Patton returned his smile with a warmer one. “We aren’t here to kill anyone. People just happen upon our sanctuary and fall through our barrier. We try to keep them safe in case some bad monsters attack them,” Patton brought his voice down to a whisper, “You see, there are many evil creatures in this forest and this barrier is meant to protect us. It wards off any evil entities and brings in those that are of goodwill. We can control who comes in of course but the barrier tends to itself most days. So don’t worry! We are just mere protectors of those just...trying to pass by.”

“Very well then. I...believe you. Although...why did the barrier have to be all goopy??”

Patton chuckled at that, displaying a larger smile. “Don’t worry about that Roman. Worry about your brother now.” He then opened the door to his brother and stepped in. Roman saw his brother huddled on a small bed, looking incredibly tired and...kind of pissed.

“Remus!” He rushed over.

* * *

As soon as he heard his brother’s booming voice, he whipped his head up. Roman was intact, albeit a bit slimy. He was glad to see him...but he was kind of pissed.

“What took you so long? I’ve been stuck on this bed for hours!” Remus glared at him.

“Well, it’s not my fault you decided to climb a dangerous wall and get sucked into a magical goop barrier!” Roman crossed his arms and glared down at his brother.

“Whatever. How’d you get in here anyways?”

“I followed you. Got sucked and this guy helped me get to you.”

It was then that he noticed someone standing behind Roman, a warm smile on his face. He waved at Remus. He didn’t bother waving back. “Whatever, how do we get out of here?”

The guy spoke up. “I can get you out but you two must rest first. I’ll bring the others but for now...just chill.” He smiled at both of them and left, closing the doors behind him.

Remus stared down at his lap, feeling a bit put out by the turn of events. He was about to fall onto the bed when he felt someone sitting by his side. He looked up and saw Roman staring him down. He was making the face he usually made when he wanted to speak up about something serious. 

“...Why did you really want to leave the castle, Remus?”

He was not expecting that question. 

“To get some fresh air! I said this before, didn’t I?” He looked away from his brother.

“But what is the real reason? Honestly, Remus, you’ve been acting strange ever since Mother brought up my coronation. I first assumed it was jealousy but you’re not the ruling type. So what is it really?”

Remus sighed. “I...just missed you. There. I said it, happy now?”

“Wow, didn’t realize you had feelings, Remus.” He blew a raspberry at Roman. “And I didn’t realize you had a brain!”

“Yeah, whatever. But...you could have told me before! You know I’d never pass up an opportunity.” Not true. Remus knew how busy his brother was this past month. There was nothing he could do to distract him because he was just never there with him. 

"I tried. But you've been so busy and I just didn't want to intrude!"

"But you always intrude. For everything. Remember that guy's funeral you interrupted awhile ago?" Roman asked, looking very confused.

"Ok well, maybe I was feeling nice for a change! I can be nice and...civil." 

"Don't be. It's not healthy to suppress your insanity." Roman looked away.

"...Promise me you won't forget about me."

"How could I?" They've been distracted this past month but Roman knew he'd always rebound back to his brother no matter what. He must have forgotten to relay that along the way but he wasn't one to give up.

"Ok." The two brothers whipped their heads to the door slowly opening as three figures-Remus could recognize two of them-stepped into the room. All three stopped in front of the bed and the one in the middle spoke up.

"We have arranged our resources to allow you two to be directly transported back to your home. Before we send you off, I would like to give a word to you both...do not ever come back.” The man gave both of them a cold glare, making sure no argument could be thrown back.

Despite their usual curiosity, they knew when to back down. Roman responded, “We understand.”

Honestly, Remus wanted more than anything to roam the halls and steal all of the treasures that they possessed...but he was still covered in goop and he really just wanted to go home. “Guess we’ll be off.”

“Very well then. Come with me.” The brothers stood up and followed the man. Back through the winding hallways and facing the ever-present barrier, the brothers prepared for their journey. The man addressed them, “I will now transport you to your home. Speak of this to no one.”

“Just hurry up already.” Remus rolled his eyes. What a drama queen. The man closed his eyes and uttered a chant that neither one of them could catch but they did feel a strange energy flowing through their body. Roman grabbed Remus’s hand and squeezed. Remus squeezed back. They both closed their eyes and prepared themselves. He wasn’t exactly happy to go back to normalcy but the thought of being able to have his brother back did make him anticipate happier days at the castle. Maybe, they could come back again…Maybe. In any case, he felt content with the outcome of their journey no matter how strange it had turned out. However, he had been so caught up in his thoughts, he hadn’t heard the man softly whispering to them more than himself.

“I hope you two found what you had been searching for here…”


End file.
